Karl Bitar

Karl Bitar was the 9th National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party and former General Secretary of NSW Labor. He now works as an executive for Crown Limited.[1]

Karl Bitar
National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party
In office
17 October 2008 – 8 April 2011
Preceded byTim Gartrell
Succeeded byGeorge Wright
Personal details
Political partyLabor

Political career

Between 1999 and 2004, Bitar worked as an organiser for NSW Labor.

He was then elevated to Assistant General Secretary of NSW Labor in 2004 before becoming General Secretary in 2007. In his role as General Secretary, Bitar acted as NSW Campaign Director at the 2007 federal election.

Bitar then succeeded Tim Gartrell as National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party in 2008.[2] As National Secretary, he oversaw the 2010 Australian federal election campaign which left Labor in minority government. Several sources at the time credited Bitar for the poor result.[3][2][4] However, Bitar largely cited other factors, including expectations of a Labor win, the media's failure to properly scrutinise Tony Abbott, the leaks and Mark Latham, as issues that led to the result.[3] The campaign review found his specific efforts in NSW largely helped Labor gain victory.[2] Bitar resigned as National Secretary in 2011.[5]

He is a member of the right faction.[2]

Personal life

Bitar is of Lebanese descent and is a Melkite Catholic.[6]

References
  1. Coorey, Phillip (26 May 2011). "Bitar says casino role is to promote tourism". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  2. Coorey, Phillip (16 March 2011). "Karl Bitar to quit Labor top job". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  3. Keane, Bernard (16 March 2011). "Bitar's reign of mayhem comes to an end". Crikey. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  4. Thompson, Jeremy (16 March 2011). "Labor secretary Karl Bitar stepping down". ABC News. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  5. "Labor's Karl Bitar quits top job". The Sydney Morning Herald. AAP. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  6. Taylor, Lenore (20 July 2010). "Karl Bitar: Labor Campaign Director". Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 9 November 2010.
Party political offices
Preceded by
Mark Arbib		 General Secretary of the Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch)
2007–2008		 Succeeded by
Matt Thistlethwaite
Preceded by
Tim Gartrell		 National Secretary of the Australian Labor Party
2008–2011		 Succeeded by
George Wright


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